[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by manolin

Oh! no wonder! because I have watched shuttlers' play at the SAI centre of excellence inside B'lore university, and the sound used to much more impressive than at now at Siri - Siri is huge compared to SAI.

But one less reason to upgrade.

There is one thing for sure - no upwardly mobile guy around 30 and living in Delhi is lacking for equipment - almost everyone i meet seems to have the all rackets - squash, baddy, tennis, TT (full racketlon suite basically), gum sole shoes, running shoes, football studs - all of which is put in the boot of their huge cars. Along with the mandatory Gold's/Talwarkars/Fitness First membership

Plus the yonex and lining kit bags and the attitude wala walk

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by arepalli99

They plan for a proper wooden/synthetic court sometime in the future. But for that you need to take membership with the club there ~2lacs or something.

Too expensive for my choice

Originally Posted by manolin

In short, have remained very mediocre, while having played for a long number of years. Playing doubles also allows me to hide a lot of these inefficiencies.

So now I am tempted to think that I should get my raquet re-gutted - it always has felt very slow with smashes (Yonex Carbonex 8); and I so want it to sound like the pros.

Man this is a serious problem . You are a 1984 born, this is the time you should be able to push yourself physically and mentally. So in my view this is what you should do.

1. If possible play with a different racquet, no need to buy as yet, but try some variation. Borrow it from friends and get your hands dirty.
2. Seriously, stretch yourself physically. Somewhere on this thread i have posted a video by Peter Rasmussien doing court movement exercises. To start i would recommend do that. Initially for 2-3 mins and then 5-10 mins. Next i would recommend talk about what your flaws are, if possible take videos and share so as folks can advise, also start working on physical side of things like weights and cardio.

I guess the basic question is "Do you want to improve"?. If yes there are many means to that goal, and truly sky is the limit.

[arepalli99]

Guys - The Hennur Banaswadi Cosmopolitan Club has a good indoor badminton facility. Wooden floor, nice high ceilings and the works.

Charges :
Registration : Rs 500/-
Monthly : Rs 1685/-

They seem to have a 10:30 - 11:30 am slot open for every day.
I am looking for company.

Let me know if any of you are interested.

PS : I am not a expert by any means, but play decently

[manolin]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

2. Seriously, stretch yourself physically. Somewhere on this thread i have posted a video by Peter Rasmussien doing court movement exercises. To start i would recommend do that. Initially for 2-3 mins and then 5-10 mins. Next i would recommend talk about what your flaws are, if possible take videos and share so as folks can advise, also start working on physical side of things like weights and cardio.

This time I started playing with the intention of pushing myself to become better. Last couple of weekends have been playing till the last drop of energy, and also with a commitment towards not giving up on shots because I can't reach them. One thing is for sure, till one is fully warmed up, like after around 10 minutes of light cardio, I just don't play well - and also end up having a sore (middle) back.

Anyways this weekend, I tried the different grips - I realised I used to hold my racket without thought. The regular grip which is advised on the internet (V between the fingers on the bevel) really hurts my wrist - so much so I could not hit any power shots without jarring my wrist (I do have a carpal tunnel type wrist problem). I guess I will try out the other grips, and see what suits me.

I did try some other rackets, which had been re-strung - they feel much better to play with, especially doubles.

Will do the court exercises as recommended. and do jumping heel kicks everyday.

[svaid]

Nice to see a thread on badminton here. I have been a weekend player for about an year and a half till mid june'2013 when I twisted my right ankle while trying to fetch the shuttle from far corner on the baseline. It was my mistake as my footwork was to blame for this.

It was extremely painful and I thought for once that I had some bone damage as well. Came back home and kept ice for an hour or so on the affected area. There was already a swelling and redness on the feet when I left the court. Thankfully, using ice helped and swelling didnt increase any further. I showed next day to the doctor and he ruled out a bone injury and attributed ligament tear. He gave me some muscle relaxer medicine and an ointment. In addition, advised me put on the crepe bandage. I was also told keep ankle in hot water followed by putting it in cold water and repeating this for a while.

Initial week or so was quite troublesome as I was mostly limping around. Things started to improve after 4-5 days. It has been almost three months now and I have started walking and doing mild jogging. However - still the confidence level with the ankle is quite low. The doctor told me that you can start playing with crepe bandage/support on but somehow still not feeling confident about it. Whenever I force sideways movement, I feel a bit of pain or discomfort.

Considering 3 months looks to be a good time for recovery, I am wondering if it is common to take that much of time for such an injury to heal. Further - are there any magical ways to expedite the recovery? I have no problems in walking. Its just that the sideways movement still has traces of discomfort.

[manolin]

Originally Posted by svaid

Considering 3 months looks to be a good time for recovery, I am wondering if it is common to take that much of time for such an injury to heal. Further - are there any magical ways to expedite the recovery? I have no problems in walking. Its just that the sideways movement still has traces of discomfort.

If you are not confident, then please get a second opinion and more tests done like an MRI before you start playing. The problem with ligaments and tendons is that they take foreever to heal (if they do at all; mostly if torn, it requires surgery).

The entire basketball team of my batch has had ACL surgeries done, one by one, because they played on a concrete court for 5 years. This stuff is very delicate, so you know, don't start anything till you are confident in your mind.

[manolin]

Doubles only -
finally, after around a month, today I thought that I was finally getting the right hang of footwork (so that I don't run). Along with footwork, what was helping was the positioning to receive smashes in doubles - we always used to split when anything was tossed up, but I used to still miss lots of shots. I would be standing parallel to the net - what works better is to stand with the outer leg slightly closer to the net, so that both players together form a semi circle.
-
U (where the dash is the net).


Still haven't got the footwork for the overhead backhand - I end up in awkward positions - I start with thinking that I will reach the correct place to hit an around the head shot, but end up with the shuttle further behind me (at which point I am forced to just hit a random blind backhand where I am looking straight at the back line). Its a judgement (and consequently stamina) issue, and I have to stop getting flustered about deep backhands for it to work.

My low forehand serves are okay, but need to start practicing the low backhand serve which gives the option of flicking it if the other player is looking to attack.

After these two are sorted, I will start work on the smashes - they don't have any bite, and I think its more of an technique issue.

[arepalli99]

What's the best yonex shuttle to use for practice? What's the difference between the various Mavis brands?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by arepalli99

What's the best yonex shuttle to use for practice? What's the difference between the various Mavis brands?

Mavis 350 and Mavis 500 are the preferred ones.The speed of the shuttles is what is different between the various brands.

However nothing to beat the feather ones.

[mayankjha1806]

Something interesting on choosing racquets, This i have already mostly covered on the first page but good to see the same logic on a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ai1zBWEX0

On Shuttles choosing it depends on where you play. In my clubhouse the roof is of white colour and has lights on them. So its easy to loose white shuttles hence we use Yellow ones (Mavis 350), If you dont have this problem you could choose Mavis 500 (Which only comes in White) or feathers too.

[kaushik_s]

Hi guys,
I've a small doubt here regarding a particular Li-Ning racket series. I recently saw a LiNing racket called Super Series 98II. The racquet felt very good to hold and to move. It's a very light racquet with wait of 81-85g and a flexible shaft. But when I tried to find it on google I couldn't find this racquet except on few online stores. Not there in li-Ning sites too. But it had genuine stickers and holograms. So can anyone tell me if it is a genuine series from Li-Ning? I'm kind of tempted to try it out as the racquet felt very good in my hand.
Another racquet I'm considering is Voltric 5 or 7 but I'm not sure if I would like a head heavy racquet, but these racquets are also light weight and have flexible shaft.
Regards,

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Hi guys,
I've a small doubt here regarding a particular Li-Ning racket series. I recently saw a LiNing racket called Super Series 98II. The racquet felt very good to hold and to move. It's a very light racquet with wait of 81-85g and a flexible shaft. But when I tried to find it on google I couldn't find this racquet except on few online stores. Not there in li-Ning sites too. But it had genuine stickers and holograms. So can anyone tell me if it is a genuine series from Li-Ning? I'm kind of tempted to try it out as the racquet felt very good in my hand.
Another racquet I'm considering is Voltric 5 or 7 but I'm not sure if I would like a head heavy racquet, but these racquets are also light weight and have flexible shaft.
Regards,

Voltric 7 is good-4U(81-85gm)/24lbs tension(max).My vote however would be for the VT5 3U(85-89) over the VT7 as the extra weight in the racquet is just perfect.String it with BG65Ti and you have a sure shot winner.

The SSII series has been discontinued afaik and hence you dont find them on the Lining sites anymore.The retailers in India are the only ones selling them now a days and some online resellers.The SSIIs are very light weight indeed.I have a SSII 68 and it plays well.However be careful with the stringing any slight mismatch in the tension and the frame goes kaput.I would suggest give the Voltric 5 a try,it should be good if you are an all round offensive player.If you do want to try a Lining racquet,check out the Woods series,expensive but very good.

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Voltric 7 is good-4U(81-85gm)/24lbs tension(max).My vote however would be for the VT5 3U(85-89) over the VT7 as the extra weight in the racquet is just perfect.String it with BG65Ti and you have a sure shot winner. The SSII series has been discontinued afaik and hence you dont find them on the Lining sites anymore.The retailers in India are the only ones selling them now a days and some online resellers.The SSIIs are very light weight indeed.I have a SSII 68 and it plays well.However be careful with the stringing any slight mismatch in the tension and the frame goes kaput.I would suggest give the Voltric 5 a try,it should be good if you are an all round offensive player.If you do want to try a Lining racquet,check out the Woods series,expensive but very good.

Thanks Ranjit for your input. Well, I'm just a beginner level player and my game is more of net game, not so bad defence and occasional smashes. I mostly play doubles. There is one problem about my smashes is that they are not very powerful. And so I was hoping that a flex shaft and a slightly heavy head would add a bit more power. Hence I was thinking about voltric 5. Currently I'm playing with muscle power 700 and somehow not finding it very suitable ( bit difficult to clear from third court as power seems inadequate), whereas I was ok with my previous racquet (Gosen) for those clears. The Gosen one was a light racquet and felt slightly head heavy without grip. I know my technique also need lot of change but I felt that a. Racquet like Voltric 5 might help a bit. When I saw the li Ning it felt very good and I'm tempted to try it out, price is in the same range as Voltric 5. Hence a bit confused. Please pour in your suggestions..

[saildrive]

Just came across this link - http://www.playgroundonline.com/cate...n/Rackets.aspx

Mayank; may be able to confirm if the rates are good or not.

[khadoos baby]

Hi Friends,
Regarding some query about lack of punch in smash. It has to do with the timing of the hit, kindly concentrate on wrist snap at the point of contact with the shuttle. It may take 2-3 sessions to actually start noticing difference.

About choosing racket for smashing- has to be head heavy but remember that if its head heavy you require considerable arm strength to swing the racket downwards. Go for Nanospeed 9900 . It is racket with even balance and quite forgiving too and good punch. Best part is the price slash. you may get it for as low as 8000 .